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Anyone feel odd pain in legs?

Scheduled for surgery L3-4 cage and fusion from L3-5. Has anyone had leg achiness. I feel like my legs are bruised. My upper thighs behind them especially when lying down, feel alot of feeling in lower legs (both), that feels like they've been run over by a mack truck. Really scaring me. Not normal leg pain from the back. Its been going for about 1 1/2 weeks, but last couple of days really noticeable.

Comments

leg pain that feels like that. They ache just like when you have the flu and they feel like you've been run over. The pain is really bad when I lay down or stand for a while (10min). I am hoping that all of this clears up with my new surgery coming up.

Sorry you are hurting. My lumbar issues are the L2/3/4 so most of my pain is the area on the side of the hips, then wrap around the front of the thighs and to the inside of the knees. There are many times that I get a "bone deep" pain, but still can't figure how to describe that feeling to my NS. It is really weird. Not the usual "shock y" feeling, but umm internal tingles with deep pain? For me most noticeable when standing and walking. Sitting in a car too. I hope you feel better soon.

Oh, have you tried ice or heat to see if that offers some relief? *HUG*

Does feel like flu like. Deep in the bones too. Really bad when I lay down. When I lay down using my lap top or watching tv in my bed I have to put a pillow under my knees to take the pressure off my back, but then my legs are killing me now. Just doesn't seem normal to me.

Does feel like flu like. Deep in the bones too. Really bad when I lay down. When I lay down using my lap top or watching tv in my bed I have to put a pillow under my knees to take the pressure off my back, but then my legs are killing me now. Just doesn't seem normal to me.

"Normally" when I lay on a bed my back is not a problem, but....if I lay say on an exam table, I too have to have pillows under my lower back and knees, else I have ice picks in my lower back! I can't lay on a rug, exam table, the bleachers at a game! (G)

If I am standing and talking to someone more than about 5 minutes, I start aching, and then if I continue, it starts going to the front of my thighs. I then have to find a wall to stretch against or a counter to lean over. I think what you are experiencing is probably normal, but again, my disks are affecting the front of my legs - but I am guessing the dynamics are pretty close!

Hi, just popped in for a look. I am an old spiney patient.....my surgery was in July 2007. ALIF/PLIF at L3/4. It was a successful fusion, in fact I was fully fused at 8 weeks....soft fusion though, it took about a year to harden well. I had my hardware taken out at another surgery in Aug 2008.

I had a ton of posts here under another name and then the forum changed and I started over.

Anyway, for me leg/foot pain/nerve pain has been a daily thing. I noticed it getting worse prior to the surgery. I had a 15' high X 10' wide, 600lbs plus-movie set wall fall on me in 2006 on the show "24" that I work on. I worked out the rest of that season but it was the leg/foot pain and numbness/tingling/ice picks things that convinced me to do the surgery. I could tell the nerves were getting boogered up. I had weakness developing in my legs also.

So after surgery it was quite painful and I too had to place pillows under my legs to elevate them and my hamstrings really hurt. I also used a moist heating pad under my knees whiched helped. That lasted a few months. Even now I sleep with a pillow between my knees and I am on a big dose of Neurontin with pain meds. Walking really helps recovery and once you are in better shape, stretching your hamstrings will likely help also.

I am so glad I did the surgery though. I was a wreck before it. I would get home and get out of my car doubled over in pain. Two minutes at the kitchen sink doing dishes I would be in agony.........and I am not a person who likes to complain about pain or whine about my situation.Also, those nerves were just going to get more damaged had I not done the surgery. Maybe they never recover fully, at least they are not getting worse.

Well...it seems like it's not just me! My right leg aches so much...at times worse than others but it's always there...like a toothache that won't go away. I even have dreams about it...I dream I am trying to put the brake with my foot and my leg is too weak and I have a wreck. Bet I have had this dream 10 or 15 times! It aches down the right side and over the top aprox. to the knee. And, as for laying flat??? No way!Hope you get some answers...please share them with us if you do! Hugs! Dusty

Depending on where the pain is indicates what nerves are compressed. For me L4/L5 nerve was squashed and pain was down leg into shin and foot. My legs ached and hurt for two years prior to surgery. Like L-Dogg said, with no surgery they will get worse and one person on a health board waited too long and wound up in a wheelchair.

I am one month post op and back pain is diminsishing and right groin pain is gone. But the left leg is still in pain and numbness. Numbness is in thigh area, and now some of those areas tingle/itch. I do feel minor improvements lately if I don't over due and rest a couple times a day in bed for an hour or two. Definitely much better than 2 weeks ago. Hopefully, when started, PT and additional walkikng will help even more. All of this is the nerve responding to being set free. I am on percocet, one every six hours and nuerontin, 3 a day, with starting 4 a day next week. Don't see doc till early June, so I hope that the tingling/itchy feeling is a healing sign. Like L-Dogg my L5 nerve was really beat up and they had to remove a lot of bone and straighten it out to give it room and a chance to heal. Also, had to cut apart L5-L4 before they could decompress them, since they started to fuse on their own. Gut feeling is it will never be 100% nor I 100% pain free. Would be happy getting to a point where I take a couple tylenol a day. I had fractured pars that let a grade two slip occur and that pulled the nerve and smashed it between the two vertebrae. Further slippage or delaying surgery would have caused more and maybe permanent damage.

Your pain is normal and will manifest itself differently depending on which vertebrae is pinching the nerve. Talk to your doc on that. There is a chart on that, dermatome chart.

Hi, before my first lumbar surgery, I had so much leg achiness, especially at night. I kept thinking maybe my vitamins were low or iron or something. I also had horrible leg cramps in the middle of the night, especially if I'd done anything physical or exercised my legs. My NS said it was the nerve roots that were compressed. I had a torn disc with a piece missing on the back side so movement from the waist down was painful too. If I stood too long, my right leg would go numb sometimes. It just kept getting worse and I was destined for surgery. I didn't fuse my first time and had to have posterior surgery to add screws, which helped immensely.

Now two years later, I occasionally have leg aches at night, but I also have really bad knees. Seems they've gotten worse from all the non-activity, through my track of more surgeries. So my aches are more around my knees. I'm also proud to say (knock on wood) that I haven't had a leg cramp since my last lumbar surgery. It's just the spinal cord and our spine that affects our whole body.

I wish you well on your upcoming fusions and hope you get relief. Remember afterwards to rest, walk, rest, walk, rest, rest, rest. Let yourself heal.

I had them too - mine varied: sometimes shooting pain, sometimes jolts of 'electric' type of pain, always a feeling of 'heaviness' in the leg, back of thigh (hamstring area) constantly ached. I had drop foot as well, so it varied w/ tingling, electric/shooting jolts along w/ a 'dead' foot I could barely flex - almost fell a number of times because of this. IMHO, it's probably a combination of nerve root compression and herniated disc material causing these issues. What helped some for me was leaning forward (I had spondy & stenosis) this gives the nerves some 'room', also, lying in a fetal position w/ a pillow between the knees as well as using warm moist heat and sometimes ice. I also lived on Advil since my doc didn't want to use RX pain meds pre-surgery so I didn't have built-up tolerances. In any case, the surgery relieved almost all of the leg pain immediately, and the leg numbness/weakness resolved over a period of 6-8 months, I just have a small amount of foot numbness at the top of my foot and into the little toe, hopefully, it will resolve completely with time. Looking back, I'd do the surgery again in a heartbeat, I'm almost back to my norm and am relatively pain free.

I'm 3 months past my fusion Alif. I had what I called Icey fire when I would sit in a recliner that would shoot down my leg. My doctor said that would go away. I did something at work, I walked down a bunch of stairs and now I am getting tingling in the back of my legs and bottom of my feet. I had my Doc check me out and said everything is fine. Funny too its mainly in my left foot when before everything was in my right foot. Has anybody had this problem? I have seen like Ken where the nerves could be coming alive. I am hoping that, I have neurotin I haven't been taking it, I guess I will because the tingling about annoying as can be at times. I'm hoping a lot of it clears up in time. Before I walked down the stairs I wasn't having any tingling at all, I pray I didn't booger anything up.

I would take the Nuerontin as prescribed by your Doc. My nerve on the left side was badly mangled and it will take months to heal, I hope only months. I sense small improvements, very small each day. But, still in positive direction. I am on 3 Nuerontin a day and will be at 4 next week. 1 in am, 1 at midday, and 2 at bedtime. I am hoping this will help the left leg pain, numbness as I heal. If the nerve hadn't been so badly smashed, and I wouldn't have waited so long for surgery, I would be doing cartwheels at four weeks post op. Although, I will NEVER forget the level of post-op pain the first 3 weeks. Now I have to just pray this nerve will heal over time and hope each week is a little better. I am doing a lot more walking with no cane at all. Where a week and a half ago I still needed a walker.

Try the Nuerontin as your doc says, they take time to build up in system like Mobic.

When taking neurotin, be sure to not stop taking it suddenly. When I was in the hospital it was not given to me (oversight). I was in the hospital for a week, by midweek I realized I wasn't getting it. I asked for it and was told no.

I would pace in my room sobbing and saying it felt like hot acid was poured on my back!

I started taking it again when I got home. At my first post op, I mentioned it to my doc, who was furious! He said, "You can't just stop taking that!"

I have taken it for so long, I really didn't realize how much it helps until then! It makes such a difference!

Just becareful stopping and starting on your own.Hope you start to feel better! Hang in there! Shari

Shari is correct on not stopping abruptly. They should give you info sheets with all the meds you have to cover those things. Just follow Dr's orders. The Neurontin has been helping me, but like I said, it is a building up process in the body like Mobic. It can cause drowsiness and I am increasing quantity slowly to make sure I handle each increase with no adverse side effects.

Shari is correct on not stopping abruptly. They should give you info sheets with all the meds you have to cover those things. Just follow Dr's orders. The Neurontin has been helping me, but like I said, it is a building up process in the body like Mobic. It can cause drowsiness and I am increasing quantity slowly to make sure I handle each increase with no adverse side effects.

Ken

I appreciate it, I'm going to try taking it tommorrow night, I had a bad episode with Lyrica a while back, (felt like I rode a Roller coaster for a week) and I want to make sure I start on a friday, so if I get dizziness it will be on the weekend. Thanks

Good Luck on the Neurontin, I had no side effects. But, again it is not one pill and immediate relief. I am building toward 4 a day as mentioned above. Although, your Dr may have different instructions for you.

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